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Day 88: a short, cold Friday #run and intro to Sledge Hockey

Last night I braved the cold and running. I wasn’t scheduled to do anything more than 2.5 miles, which was fine because it was was crisp out! I was at 2.44 km, had just snapped a photo of a crazy-decorated house in Willow Park and my phone shut off! I could have sworn it was charged enough for the run. So not knowing the distances I turned around and headed back to the house. When I got there and plugged my phone in, it turned right back on – is it possible it was too cold out? My iPhone has been so finicky. Eek.

So I ran for about 25 minutes. Not sure the total distance. It was slippery, windy and cold. There were only a few houses lit when I went out for my run at around 6:00, so it was a little boring. Tonight I have to do hills. And it’s still cold out.

I do want to tell you about a really awesome event going on in the city this week: the World Sledge Hockey Challenge. I’m actually a volunteer (surprise, surprise). We had our orientation this morning and it’s definitely going to be a terrific week!

Sledge Hockey was invented at a rehabilitation centre in Stockholm, Sweden in the early 1960’s by a group of people who wanted to continue playing hockey despite their physical disabilities. Interesting fact: At the recreational level, anyone can play sledge hockey, disabled and able-bodied. At the international level, however, only athletes with a disability in the lower part of their body can be classified by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to participate.

Rules and Equipment

The rules for Sledge Hockey are the same as able bodied hockey. The game is played with most of the same hockey equipment used in any ice hockey league. In Sledge Hockey, there is a need for protective equipment as the game is fast paced on the sleds with tight turns and high shots of the puck from a seated position. In senior leagues, body checking is allowed.The equipment for sledge hockey is usually adapted to fit the needs of each athlete. Each player is seated on a sled that is two to four feet long and glides on the ice with two skate blades. The distance from the ice to the top of the frame of the sled must be 8.5 cm to 9.5 cm to keep them from overlapping on contact. A back rest may be used on a sled and straps can be used to fasten the player’s legs and body to the sled. The players use sticks(maximum length is 75 cm) with a pick on one end and a blade on the other for the dual purpose of skating and puck handling.

I still don’t know a heck of a lot about sledge hockey, but I’ve already met one player and she’s totally inspired me to check it out further. She was encouraging me to give it a try – I jovially said, “There’s no way I can do that; I have terrible balance and I’m uncoordinated.” Not missing a beat, she replied: “You’ll never know if you don’t try it!” It was so simple. And something we’ve all heard a million times, but she was totally right. I may just give it a try so stay tuned 🙂

Um what is hockey ??? Just kidding, I know what it is but can you explain why it’s so well loved in Canadia? ( I spell it like that so it sounds like Australia …….makes sense as we are Australians, you are Canadians, geddit??)

LOL… we are just coming home from an intense restaurant experience with cranky child…this was a much needed laugh. Canada is the birthplace of hockey 🙂 In the words of Saul Miller, “Hockey is our game. We invented it. We’re good at it. And I think people really want something to take pride in.”

Cool, So there is ice? Te he! Cranky kid sounds awful, hope you enjoyed your meal….. We really went for it, ate sooooo much fooooood! And drank a ton of wine too. So many good wines at this restaurant.

We had 8 different wines. Half glasses but still…… First, champagne, next semillon, then chardonnay, then rose, then grenache then pinot noir then desert wine (I think it was botrytis chardonnay??) then a spanish desert wine and topped off with more champagne! Pure indulgence. I drank tons of water throughout so woke up with a clear head….

That sounds so divine! If there would have been some smelly cheeses I would have been in heaven!! Good for you remembering to drink lots of water… champagne always gives me a headache (not to mention consuming copious amounts of wine….) 🙂